is a Japanese professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for

Gamba Osaka is a Japanese professional football club based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Gamba'' comes from the Japanese , meaning "to do your best" or "to st ...

and the

Japan national football team The , nicknamed the , represents Japan in men's international Association football, football. It is controlled by the Japan Football Association (JFA), the governing body for football in Japan. Japan was not a major football force until the e ...

. He previously played for

Albirex Niigata is a professional football club based in Niigata, Japan. Formed in 1955 as Niigata Eleven SC, it was renamed Albireo Niigata FC in 1995, and Albirex Niigata in 1997. From 2023, Albirex will be playing on the J1 League, coming back to the fir ...

Club career

A native of Osaka, Higashiguchi spent time in Gamba Osaka's youth system prior to entering university, first at the

Fukui University of Technology The is a private university founded in 1950 and located in Fukui, Fukui Prefecture, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bo ...

and later at the

Niigata University of Management is a private university in Kamo, Niigata, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, wh ...

where he represented their football team in the

2008 Emperor's Cup The 88th Emperor's Cup began on September 13, 2008 and ended on January 1, 2009 with the final at National Stadium in Tokyo. As the champion, Gamba Osaka participated in 2009 AFC Champions League. Calendar Participants J.League Division 1 ...

. After graduating from university, Higashiguchi signed his first professional contract with then

J1 League The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J ...

outfit Albirex Niigata. He spent five seasons with the men from the Japan Sea coast and played a total of 84 league games before returning to Osaka in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. Gamba Osaka had just been promoted back to J1 League following their shock relegation in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, when they acquired Higashiguchi to be their new first-choice goalkeeper ahead of the 2014 campaign. Things could not have got off to a better start for him at his new club as they went on to lift the J1 League title, the J.League Cup and the Emperor's Cup. The Osaka giants followed that up by winning the

2015 Japanese Super Cup The 2015 Japanese Super Cup was held on 28 February 2015 between the 2014 J.League champions Gamba Osaka and the 2014 J.League runner-up Urawa Red Diamonds. This was both clubs' third encounter in the Super Cup, Urawa having won in 2006 and Ga ...

and

Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or also Japan FA Cup is a Japanese football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football match in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formation of the J.League, Japan Football League and their predecessor, J ...

trophies, defeating

Urawa Red Diamonds , colloquially Urawa Reds (浦和レッズ), also known as Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club from April 1992 to January 1996, is a professional football club in the city of Saitama, part of the Greater Tokyo Area in Japan. The club plays in the J ...

in the final of both competitions, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

before going down to

Guangzhou Evergrande Guangzhou Football Club, formerly known as Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club, is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under the license of the Chinese Football Association. The team is based ...

over two legs in the semi finals. Higashiguchi played 55 times in all competitions in 2015 adding to the 50 appearances he made in 2014. Gamba did not win any silverware between 2016 and 2018, however, Higashiguchi remained the undisputed first-choice between the sticks; he was an ever present during the 2016 league campaign before missing 1 and 5 league games respectively due to injury in the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

International career

On 23 July 2015,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

's coach

Vahid Halilhodžić Vahid Halilhodžić (; born 15 October 1952) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the most controversially successful Bosnian football managers, due to his successful tenure in coaching various na ...

called him up to the national team for the first time ahead of the upcoming

2015 EAFF East Asian Cup The 2015 EAFF East Asian Cup was the 6th edition of the EAFF East Asian Cup, the football championship of East Asia. It was held in China in 2015. Two preliminary competitions were held during 2014. First preliminary round *All matches were pla ...

. He debuted against

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, in the last match of the tournament, a 1-1 draw. His next international involvement would come in a World Cup qualifier at home to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

in March 2016. The match would see Higashiguchi keep his first clean sheet for the national team as Japan ran out 5-0 winners. After this is would be another 19 months before his next cap in a 3–3 draw in a friendly match at home to

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

on 10 October 2017. Two months later he was named in the squad for the

2017 EAFF E-1 Football Championship The 2017 EAFF E-1 Football Championship was the 7th edition of the EAFF E-1 Football Championship, the football championship of East Asia. It was held in Japan in December 2017. Through the agreement between EAFF and ASEAN Football Federation (AF ...

in his home country. Like two years previously, his only involvement was in a match against China which Japan won this time 2–1 to help themselves to the runners-up spot in the tournament behind

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. He was named in Japan's squad for the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

in Russia., but did not play in any of the team's matches as

Eiji Kawashima is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ligue 1 club Strasbourg. Kawashima played in Japan for Omiya Ardija, Nagoya Grampus Eight and Kawasaki Frontale before joining Lierse S.K. in Belgium in 2010. He then pla ...

started all four of their games. He did, however, play in a pre-tournament friendly against

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

on 12 June, the match ending in a 4–2 Japanese victory. He played a further 2 international matches in 2018, the home friendly victories over

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

in October and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

in November.Japan National Football Team Database
/ref> He was named in the final Japan squad for the

2019 AFC Asian Cup The 2019 AFC Asian Cup was the 17th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in the United Arab Emirates from 5 January to 1 ...

in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

in January 2019 alongside fellow goalkeepers

Shūichi Gonda is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Shimizu S-Pulse and the Japan national team. He also represented the Japan national team at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Career Gonda has made 244 appearances in all competitio ...

and Daniel Schmidt, however, like the World Cup 6 months earlier he did not make any appearances.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honors

Gamba Osaka *

J. League Division 1 The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian Football Confederation, Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promot ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

J. League Cup The is a Japanese Association football, football (soccer) competition organized by J.League. It has been sponsored by Yamazaki Biscuits (YBC) of Yamazaki Baking (formerly Yamazaki Nabisco) since its inception in 1992. It is also known as the or ...

Japanese Super Cup The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is an annual one-match association football competition in Japan organised by J. League and the Japan Football Association (JFA). This competition serves as the season opener and is played between the r ...

Japan *

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...

runner-up:

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

References

External links

* * * *
Masaaki Higashiguchi
–

Yahoo! Japan is a Japanese internet company originally formed as a joint venture between the American internet company Yahoo! (later divested by Verizon into Altaba) and the Japanese company SoftBank. It is headquartered at Kioi Tower in the Tokyo Garden Terr ...

competition record {{DEFAULTSORT:Higashiguchi, Masaaki 1986 births Living people Fukui University of Technology alumni Niigata University of Management alumni Association football people from Osaka Prefecture Japanese footballers Japan international footballers J1 League players Albirex Niigata players Gamba Osaka players 2015 AFC Asian Cup players Association football goalkeepers 2018 FIFA World Cup players People from Takatsuki, Osaka 2019 AFC Asian Cup players